First place finisher Tanner Rabelhofer of Silver Lake is loaded down by Kevin Bushnick of Muskies Inc. with prizes for topping the field at the Silver Lake Youth Muskie Hunt. Rabelhofer landed a 30.25 inch northern.
The 2009 Silver Lake Youth Muskie Hunt hit the water early Friday morning.
The weather was nice and the fishing good, with several large northerns landed and one muskie netted by noon.
There were about 20 youth participants, with about half of those being from Silver Lake.
The event was organized by Silver Lake Police Chief Dan Kingsley and Kevin Bushnick, youth fishing director for the Illinois Fox River Valley Chapter of Muskies Inc. It was the first year for the event here.
Local sponsors for the day included the Silver Lake Dairy Queen, The Peoples Bank of Silver Lake and Silver Lake BP. Additional sponsors were MuskyTales Online, Frank’s Custom Rods, Cabela’s and Bass Pro Shops.
Here’s some more photos from the event:
Tanner Rabelhofer of Silver Lake took top honors.
Tyler Saile hooked the only muskie of the day which was netted, but not officially handed. With Tanner Rabelhofer's agreement, he also received a first place trophy for the day.
Gavin Faber of Silver Lake landed a 26-inch northern to share second place.
Dan Scheutte was the other second place winner, also landing a 26-inch northern.
Eric Ritzel shared third place for his 24.25 inch northern.
Tim Buski was the other third place finisher with a 24.25 northern.
Kent and Ginger Ipsen, (right) owners of the Silver Lake Dairy Queen, provided a hot dog, hamburger and ice cream lunch for participants.